Through The Grapevine | By Tim Dwight | July 23, 2009
To view the article as it appears in Florida Today, click here: http://www.floridatoday.com.
“So, is this going to be like that movie, “Sideways”, my friend inquired hopefully.
“No”, I said, “first thing we’re going to Napa Valley, not Santa Barbara. And second, we’re going on a trip to do some serious investigative work. I’ve got some important interviews set up with a few folks who don’t spend their time chatting with retailers, let alone wine writers.”
“I thought you said these visits had been set up for you through the distributors you work with?, my friend asked.
“Well, right, mostly…”
I had managed to finally take advantage of the perks of the trade; 4 nights accommodations comped by some of the wineries whose products I deal with in the retail world. I’d been hearing too often, “Next time you’re out our way in California…”, and yet there I was, tied down to my day job…
Finally: here we are at Orlando International at 8:00 in the a.m., waiting to board our flight for a long week-end to Napa and Sonoma wine country. Well-plotted, tightly executed, ready to go, but now: “San Francisco passengers on flight 82, we regret to inform you that our scheduled airplane is experiencing mechanical difficulties…there will be a delay while we try and located another plane to bring in…”
“Better they found that out now before we took off”, stated my traveling companion.
He’s right, of course, but a couple hours delay means that we’re missing our connection in Denver, and now arriving in San Fran at 4:30 pm. After baggage retrieval and a shuttle off-site to the auto rental we’re hitting Route 101 just about 5:30, prime time for freeway madness, California-style. And to make matters worse, we’ve actually got to head south, and east, from the airport which is the direction all of these battled-hardened drivers seem to be heading.
Our first day’s visit is not north to Napa but southeast towards Livermore. Wente Vineyards is located there in the valley and one of our distributors has set us up with a tour of the winery along with dinner and lodging.Two guys traveling together: we’ve declined the rental companies’ offer of an additional charge to rent a GPS, and I’m at the wheel of our day-glow blue Korean compact, my friend with the requisite rental map stretched across his lap.
“Now, where the heck is the Livermore Valley, anyway”?
About 50 miles—and 2 hours later—creeping through traffic that would make hardened I-4 drivers blanch with fear, we see signs for our destination.
“Wente Winery, 2 miles on left”, says the sign on the side of the road as we pass from suburban neighborhoods into rolling hills, pastures, and finally: grapevines.
The heavy weight that’s settled down upon us on the drive ---as we realized we were going to miss the winery tour and tasting—begins to lighten up as we pull into the gravelly parking lot of this historic—and remarkable beautiful—Wente winery.
It’s been a long days’ travel; going coast-to-coast no matter how you travel, on-time or 3 hours late---you’re going to be beat. Your watch, still set for eastern standard time, proclaims 10:10 p.m., but that’s 7:10 on the west coast, so we’re only 10 minutes late for our dinner reservations.
The Wente family, five generations and counting, have been in the wine business for over 125 years; they’re California’s “oldest, continually-operating family winery”, as the literature exclaims, having managed to maintain operations during the lull of Prohibition.
After learning about winemaking from Charles Krug, Napa’s original vintner, German immigrant C. H. Wente founded his own winery in 1883. Recognizing that the warm days, cool nights and gravelly soils of the Livermore Valley were ideal for growing grapes, he purchased 48 acres and planted vines.
Flash-forward to 2009: there’s obviously a success story here, even if the limelight of the California wine scene tends to shine more brightly on the north coast appellations of Napa and Sonoma.
The advance literature hasn’t prepared us for the unexpected beauty of the scenery here, and how many wineries can claim to have their own golf course adjacent to the vineyards? A nice diversion, but my friend and I barely have time to check into the small cottage that;ll be our adopted housing for the night.A quick clean up, then into dinner at the Wente restaurant. We’re not sure quite sure what to expect as far the cuisine goes, but we’ve been give a ticket stating, “Good for $100 off the price of your meal”.
“That should take care of our costs tonight, right?”, offered my companion.
“I’m not so sure…” I begin as we walk into an exquisitely detailed, if understated, dining room. One quick glance and I can tell we’re in for a treat. Not only is the Wente winery of historical importance to the community, I realize, this restaurant is probably their pride and joy as well. Diners are well-dressed, making us a bit self-conscious in our rumpled traveling clothes, though few seem to notice.
“Quite a menu”, says my friend. “I can’t decide between the lamb sirloin and the grilled calamari”.
Choices indeed, and the wine list: the Wente family are confident enough to offer a selection of 200 or so wines from throughout the entire state, not just their own backyard.
But we’re going local, and we’ll stick with that credo with just one exception throughout our trip.
Although my companion is well versed in the ways of wine geeks, he defers the wine selections to me. Time to take advantage of the fact the our night’s lodging is located within stumbling distance of the restaurant’s front door; I opt for a bottle of an unusual white varietal, Verdelho, to match with a set of seafood appetizers. The local version of this wine—more common to Spain and Portugal---is delicious with our first course.
“Light-to-medium bodied, dry; yet still fruity and round”, I write on my notepad.
This is the first of many wines we’ll enjoy on our trip; tune in next week and we’ll continue the journey.
Posts
